Words to live by

Best use of content 2025

One fifth of deaths or serious injuries on the roads involve a young car driver even though they account for just seven per cent of the driving population. And one in five accidents involving young adults comes with an injury claim, meaning that almost a third of all claims are made by under-24s.

Admiral Group commissioned agency The Folk Group to create a campaign that addressed this issue.

Folk conducted research that revealed that, while 78 per cent of parents tell their children to ‘drive safely’, two in five don’t believe their words make a difference. They are a meaningless mantra, instead of ‘words to live by’.

The campaign was determined not to demonise or preach at young drivers but instead to reinforce that they, and their families, were not invincible. Its central thrust was a ‘hero film’ in which young driver Jack’s mum reminds him to ‘drive safely’ each time he leaves the house.

Viewers are taken on a journey where they imagine the worst, but instead the police turn up at Jack’s house to reveal his mum has been killed – in a collision with a young driver.

The agency liaised with diverse influencers to create Gogglebox-style content showing their reaction to the film, and launched the film with a news release highlighting bleak statistics about young drivers.

For example, young male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with motorists aged over 25. The release also included the real life story of Newcastle-based Michael Thompson who, 11 years after his road accident aged 21, still suffers from his injuries.

A microsite on Admiral Insurance’s website, Drive Safely, also offered advice from psychologist Ella McCrystal on how to have a meaningful conversation about driving safely, as well as news of a partnership with Headway, the brain injury charity.

The campaign generated 135 pieces of media coverage, while seven titles shared the film. More than 10,000 people visited the microsite, and the Department of Transport’s marketing team asked permission to share the campaign’s content.

A YouGov survey following the campaign found that 36 per cent of young people had since had a meaningful conversation with a family member, while 12 per cent had changed or are considering changing how they drive.

The judges admired the ‘strong storyline’, adding: ‘This was a good, comprehensive campaign with great content.’